Dear Theo (and Jed Hoyer),
With football consuming my Christmas Eve, I wanted to get this letter to you beforehand. I wanted to start by thanking you for being a better Santa than Santa. In the last three years, you’ve provided more joy than any wrapped cardboard box ever could (except maybe my PlayStation 4 … that’s pretty sweet).
Three years ago, our Cubs shocked baseball by happy-go-luckying their way to the National League Championship Series — beating our rival Pirates and Cardinals on the way. That experience paved the way for something better the following year.
In 2016, we won the World Series. Enough said. Even now, when I go back and watch highlights of Game 7, I get nervous. Even now, I go numb when they show Rajai Davis’s fist pump in the 8th inning. Even now, a wave or relief washes over me when I see Kris Bryant’s scary throw safely reach Anthony Rizzo’s glove, setting off a wild celebration.
And then last year, we made it back to the NLCS after surviving an epic NLDS series against Washington. I know we purposely made it tough on ourselves so Bryce Harper’s eventual heartbreak would hurt even more. We just laid some more ground work there to convince Harper to bolt the Nationals and join the Good Guys in the 2018 offseason (sorry, Hawk Harrelson).
You promised us sustained success and repeated opportunities to compete in the crapshoot that is the MLB postseason. You delivered. Three straight runs to the LCS, one that bore a World Series trophy, proves that. And now, we move forward to prepping for next year.
You’ve already done very well. Signing Tyler Chatwood helped fortify the back end of our rotation. And signing Brandon Morrow, the Bullpen Ironman of last postseason, adds more back-end bullpen firepower. But there’s still work to do.
Here’s my wishlist:
Starting Pitcher: We need another starting pitcher, that much has been acknowledged. I recently debated with my SM colleagues whether signing Yu Darvish or re-signing Jake Arrieta would be better. I, for sentimental reasons, thought Arrieta was the right choice. Everyone disagreed with me, so I went back and researched more and watched some more Darvish with an open mind. Yeah, I was wrong. Darvish would be great and would make more sense.
I know you’re kicking the tires on Alex Cobb too, and I would definitely be OK with that. But if you can get Darvish, our rotation is hard to beat. Jon Lester, Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, and Tyler Chatwood? A playoff rotation of the first four? Damn!
Bullpen: Wade Davis and Hector Rondon are no longer on the team, for now. And while signing Morrow helps the bullpen (and he has closing experience), we could certainly use another arm back there to solidify things further. For the right price, a Davis return makes a lot of sense. Low-key, how about Greg Holland? He had a terrific season at Coors Field last year. If he can stay healthy, he’d be a great addition.
What’s more, with Justin Wilson still needing to prove that he can throw the ball in the same zip code as the plate, we could use another lefty setup guy too. How about someone like Tony Watson as the lefty setup guy?
Re-sign Jon Jay: With all due respect to Tommy LaStella, I don’t think anyone provided the type of veteran at-bat time and time again that Jon Jay did, and he played a solid outfield. He may be looking for a starting job somewhere, but bringing him back makes a ton of sense if you can.
Keep Javy Baez No Matter What: This is more of a sentimental ask, but Baez is one of the most electric and exciting players in the game. I don’t think this one needs much explaining, but he is a joy to watch. Sure, most of our team and lineup is just as fun to watch, but there’s something extra special about Javy. Unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, please keep him!
There are other needs and wants, but I think I highlighted what’s on my wishlist pretty well. Of course, you probably already knew these things being the better-than-Santa Santa that you are. But still, I thought I’d reach out.
Merry Christmas, Theo (and Jed Hoyer). And I, along with the rest of Cubs Nation, look forward to seeing how you close out the offseason. Go Cubs!
Cheers,
Dhruv
